Transform your series idea into a marketable project! Enhance your scriptwriting and creative skills while uncovering exciting funding opportunities. Whether you have a limited or ongoing series, our program welcomes and supports your vision. Join us and bring your project to life!
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: December 2, 2024
MIDPOINT Series Launch is a residential, project-based training program tailored for the creative teams of emerging and mid-career professionals. It is dedicated to talents from Central and Eastern Europe, while also welcoming voices from across Europe and beyond.
For teams of writers, producers, and if attached, directors
For Development Executive Participants
Test your skills in practice. This training gives you the opportunity to observe the process of shaping initial series ideas into scripts and learn how to guide project teams towards the best possible results.
For more information click here.
To apply for the workshop, please create an account on the MIDPOINT Institute Visitor Page and follow the instructions within the submission form.
The application materials consist of:
Please note that a detailed description of the requested materials can be found on the submission form!
Nine creative teams, split into three groups, work under the guidance of internationally renowned and experienced tutors. They collaborate closely with development executive participants who are involved in all parts of the program.
Project team members are introduced to serial storytelling with lectures and dramaturgical consultations addressing the structural differences between features and series, and tackling the subject of the series concept and a pilot.
Development Executive participants, guided by their mentor, are briefed and pre-trained in their basic script-editing skills.
The creative teams are led to defining their series concept and theme, and outlining their pilot scripts. The workshop consists of group work, individual consultations, lectures and series analysis.
Each Development Executive is assigned to the group of projects and observes the group work led by the group leader. The participants get acquainted with the dynamics within the creative team. Their learning process is debriefed within meetings with the development executive tutor, as well as the project teams themselves.
Creative teams work on completing their pilots, and creating their season arc and season outlines. They focus also on the project pitching documents, production aspects as well as the financing strategy.
Development Executive participants continue the involvement in the group, serving as script editors, observing the work on the pilot episode, and getting trained in the financing strategies and production issues together with the creative teams.
Each project comes with a revised pilot script, a completed bible, a 3-pager, and a teaser. The workshop emphasizes the creation of marketing strategies, the refinement of pitching skills, and familiarizes participants with the specifics of different segments of the series market.
The workshop concludes at the established industry market of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event and its series conference TV Beats, offering debates, panels, lectures, case studies, master classes, and the pitching presentation of all projects and participants.
Development Executive participants attend the pitching training and rehearsals of the projects while also preparing for their own presentations to pitch themselves as industry professionals. They will leverage the networking opportunities at the event for their future careers.
To ensure the most complex approach to training, Series Launch works with established and well-respected industry names coming from Central and Eastern Europe, Western Europe, USA or Australia.
The Head of Studies oversees the general methodology of the program, ensures the needs of the participants are met in the most effective way, and guarantees the practical value and industry impact of the training delivered.
The Group Leaders oversee the development of projects in their group from the very beginning of the training until they graduate from the program. They also coach the development executive participant assigned to their group.
The Development Executive Mentor attends and co-creates the training program for the development-executive participants, ensuring that it's implemented into group work and that the collaborative set-up simulates a real-life industry environment.
Belgrade, 2003. When Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić is assassinated, the country plunges into chaos, and the government declares a state of emergency. A turning point in recent Serbian history told through the perspective of a female journalist, a police inspector and a young criminal.
Kyiv, 2020. Natasha has created Babyland, a luxury hotel where fertile women give birth for infertile couples. When a tragic event from Natasha’s past comes back to haunt her, Babyland’s future is threatened and Natasha’s soul is at stake.
Aging mobster Dragan struggles to adapt to the new times by fighting teenage-hot-shots on the rise – realizing that his son is becoming the very face of this emerging “turbo-generation”.
The ER doctor, Kristin, in the wake of her divorce moves to her home village with her teenage daughter. Completely out of her comfort zone as she deals with her old lover and her psychic mother, forcing her to face the ghosts of her past.
After his mother's death, teenager Juri and his father relocate to a rundown housing complex - but there is more here than meets the eye.
Sadly, no. As the entire training runs in English, and during the working days you'll be asked to write directly in English, we require an intermediate level of these language skills. This simply means: your grammar doesn't have to be perfect, but you need to talk/write fluently and have the vocabulary to do so.
Absolutely! The sooner in the development process you apply, the better. Series Launch is designed as a "bottom-up" training program, and will help you create your show from scratch.
In our region, you might know the profession under the term "television dramaturg" or "commissioning editor". It basically is the script consultant and person who oversees the creative development of series. He/she stands on the broadcaster's side mostly, but could also easily be a development producer at a production company. Read more by clicking on the links stated in the "Overview" folder of this page, or simply ask us.
Sure! But before you apply, take a moment and first think about why is a series format the one you're thinking of as opposed to a feature film. Is there an engine moving your story? Are you working with a more complex world? (...) Took that moment? Okay, so now apply.
Quite honestly - a lot. Series Launch is an intensive training, and apart from the assignments and work done during the residential workshops themselves, it operates with a system of tasks and deadlines in between the three workshops. So clear that calendar out a bit.
Not for this particular program. But brace yourself! We are also offering a special training for the short form series (under 20 mins per episode) creators! Check it out here.
Sadly, no. Based on our experience, the series rules do not quite apply to formats running over an hour and tend to behave more like feature films. It certainly is a format finding its place on television, we've however opted to focus our training to projects that are series in their core.
Sadly, this program does not work with reality show, animation or documentary projects, its focus are fiction series projects (drama, comedy, etc.).
Taking into account the methodology of collective group work, we strongly recommend applying as a project team consisting of 2-3 creators, ideally consisting of writer, (co-writer), and producer.
The way how Series Launch is designed, a producer is really needed to be on board. You can consider coming as a writer-producer yourself and taking on another co-writer. It would only mean that you'd have to take over the position of the producer at a certain point of the training and focus more on production planning.
This is of course possible, but as series writing, in general, is team-based, we really really really suggest bringing another writer with you. During the workshop, you'll be asked to brainstorm and come up with new, and then some new, and then other new ideas, and this is difficult to do in a one-man-show set-up. It might come in handy to have somebody to bounce off your ideas along the way.
The continuity of work of specific persons during the entire program is essential. Therefore, it is not possible to add (or replace) the team members during the program.
We embrace all kinds of talent coming from different types of backgrounds. But because we actively and intensely work during the run of the program (both during and outside the residential workshops), it might be a good idea to bring an actual screenwriter – somebody who's familiar with screenwriting structure and formatting and used to day-to-day deliveries, as the tempo and demands during the workshop might seem a bit overwhelming for a first-time writer. This person can be added to the team alongside the creator.
Great! We love those. But don't forget that you're not writing a Wikipedia profile for a specific person or event in history, you're telling a story. Don't describe it; narrate it. Pitch it to us as if we were the viewers already watching the show on the screen.
It is possible to pay the participation fee in three instalments corresponding to the three parts of the training program (i.e., 3*700 EUR per participant)
It does. However, these are only partial, cannot be allocated to all participants, and their granting therefore considers various criteria. We HIGHLY recommend applying to a local supporting organization (national or local funds, ministries of culture or education, professional associations, etc.) at the same time you're applying to MIDPOINT Series Launch. You can always withdraw your application if not selected, but as the processing time of this support can be rather long, it might be quite late to do this once we confirm you're in.
We don't have a particular list of eligible countries, as basically the entire region we work with is eligible. We do give out scholarships; their allocation and value depend on the selected projects and teams - based on how many of them come from countries with no system of support.
Be clear about which of the projects you're mentioning were actually produced/released and which are being developed, and with the ones already made, name a few specific results (festivals, awards, number of viewers, etc.).
Also be clear what specifically your role was in these projects. Mention relevant international training programs you've participated in the past, interesting collaborations you've been a part of and in what role, industry events / presentations you've taken part in and in which capacity.
You can find a detailed description on all the requested submission materials on the first page of your submission form. You can access the form once you've created a profile at the MIDPOINT Visitor Page (see instructions in the "Application" segment of the program’s web profile).
No worries! You can save the form anytime you like and come back to it later, and you can also save or submit any number of applications you like!
